


a greeting i send to you

by LiteraLi



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It, Movie AU, No Pizonica
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-05-19 15:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19359460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteraLi/pseuds/LiteraLi
Summary: Movie AU: Around one year before the events of the movie, what may have been a 'second first-date' with Piz prompts Veronica to do a little Facebook stalking and (accidentally!) reconnect with Logan a little bit sooner...





	a greeting i send to you

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is not exactly a 'last chance before new canon fic' but more of a fix-it movie AU. I know there are many other similar fics, but I hope you will still enjoy my version as part of this collection! It always bugged me that Veronica had been with Piz for the whole year pre-movie. It felt very much like repeating the Duncan S2 storyline and made no sense to me, so I re-wrote it. :) Also in this fic: Carrie doesn't die and Logan doesn't get accused of murder!  
>  
> 
> Thanks so much to the mods for organizing this and I am glad for my first VM fic to be part of this wonderful collection celebrating the return of Veronica & Co. in less than two weeks!!!  
>  
> 
> Special thanks to my beta, [AmyPC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyPC), whose comments and suggestions helped this fic make a lot more sense!

Veronica doesn’t know why she agreed to this.

 

Okay, that’s not completely true.

 

She knows why. She’s just starting to have second thoughts about saying yes to Wallace.

 

When he had called last week and exclaimed “V! You’ll never guess who’s in New York these days!” she honestly wasn’t expecting Piz to be the name he mentioned, but by the end of their call she was saving his new number in her phone and telling Wallace that Piz should be in touch so they could meet up sometime.

 

(There was absolutely not a moment when Veronica’s heart felt like it was in her chest, holding her breath to hear if the name Wallace would utter was a certain one beginning with the letter ‘L’. Nope, never happened.)

 

Veronica had said yes because she was lonely. Law school was brutal. There shouldn’t have been time to be lonely, between classes, studying, errands and the odd shifts she worked to make ends meet. And yet she was. Sure, she had some friends at Columbia. But it wasn’t the same. She had yet to meet anyone in New York she just clicked with like Mac and Wallace. And Veronica knew her personality took some getting used to. Still, she was a single woman in her mid (okay, _mid-late_ ) twenties and she sometimes craved human interaction, okay?

 

Meeting up with Piz ticked two boxes for her. One, she’d have company for an evening. And two, Piz knew her and knew her schedule. He would understand that she wouldn’t have endless time to spend with him. At least, she hopes he knows that and doesn’t expect her to have changed drastically over the last eight years. _This is just a one-time thing, Veronica. A nice way to spend the evening. You won’t even have to see him again after this._ Veronica gives herself a pep-talk as she gets ready.

 

But she also knows that on Piz’s side there is hope for something more. He had not so subtly mentioned he was single when they texted, which prompted her to mention that she was too. So there was the fact that tonight _may_ technically be considered a date. _Would that be so bad, Veronica? God knows it’s been ages since you’ve gone out, been kissed, gotten la --_ Veronica shakes her head before her mind goes there. 

 

 _What are you nervous about, Veronica? The fact that you might want to give this a shot again with Piz? You’ve grown up, gotten out of Neptune, you’ve changed. Maybe Piz could be good for you. Or is it that he’s not the one you really wish you were meeting tonig--_ Veronica inhales hard at that thought, almost poking her eye with the mascara wand. She composes herself and finishes up her makeup with some final touches. _Ok, that’s it. I’m not going to overthink things. Meeting up with an ex. People do that all the time. May go somewhere, may not. I’ll just have to get through this and see._ She gives herself a final once over in the mirror, forces a smile, and walks out the door, head held high.

 

* * *

 

Things are going well. Piz greeted her with a warm hug. They walked around a bit and then found a quiet bar to get drinks and food and chat. And it’s been...comfortable. _Nice._ They’re one hour in and Veronica doesn’t even remember why she thought this might be a bad idea.

 

She remembers after two hours.

 

And it’s not even anything specific Piz says. They spend most of the time catching up on everything that had happened since they last saw each other. There is a moment when he asks if she’s still in touch with anyone from Hearst and she knows what he’s really asking but she just looks him in the eye and says, “Mac and Wallace”. It’s just that, Piz is Piz. Nice, predictable, won’t-shut-up-about-some-band-she-doesn’t-give-a-damn-about Piz. _Boring_ Piz. _Shit, Veronica, you did not just think that! Aren’t you yourself a boring old lawyer now? You aren’t better than Piz. You’ve grown up. You've changed. You’ve become someone better._

 

The thing is though, deep down, Veronica knows she hasn’t. You can take the girl out of Neptune and all that. She might not have investigated a case since she left home all those years ago, but that doesn’t mean she hadn’t wanted to. There was that prick from her study group in Stanford who she just _knew_ was cheating on his girlfriend. Her professor who accepted bribes from students in exchange for raising their grades. Her neighbor who was most definitely a drug dealer, one dark year where she could only afford to live in a sketchy part of town. She may have resisted, shoved those desires as far down as she could, but the truth of the matter is that sitting here talking to Piz she finds herself facing the fact that inside, she’s still the cynical, prickly, private eye, knows-what-she-wants-and-doesn’t-give-a-shit-what-anyone-else-thinks girl she’s tried so hard to leave behind.

 

And that girl is _bored. To. Hell_.

 

She plays nice though, for another twenty or so minutes. (Nineteen minutes and forty-seven seconds, to be exact.) Gives Piz a kind goodbye, but is vague about if and when she’ll be able to meet up again. She’s at war with her thoughts though, in the cab on the way home. _What do you want, Veronica?_ She can almost see it, you know. A stable, reliable relationship with a sweet guy who worships her. There are worse things in life. _What’s the alternative here? Move back to Neptune, go back to working with dad? You’ve chosen another path here. Comfortable doesn’t have to mean boring. Who ever said stability was a bad thing?_

 

She pushes all thoughts of her most-probably-a-date with Piz aside. And as often happens when she is trying to bury one thought, another forbidden one pops up. 

 

_Logan._

 

_Oh, Logan._

 

_If you knew who I just spent the evening with…_

 

So sue her, sometimes Veronica lets herself indulge. Picture the boy he was and the man he’s become. They haven’t spoken since “it’s gonna take some time this time”, but she knows enough to let her mind wander, to conjure up images of him in navy attire. She doesn't even have to use much of her imagination, since he’s popped up in the news again in the past year, all lean and angular.

 

Veronica knows it’s going to be one of those nights as she rides the elevator up to her apartment. She refuses to think of it as stalking, instead she likes to think of it as ‘checking up on an old friend’. She rushes through her nighttime routine and settles on the couch with her laptop and a cup of coffee. Hey, she’s not going to be able to sleep tonight anyway. Somehow she started treating this guilty habit of hers like pulling an all-nighter. A crash course in Logan Echolls if you will, a cram session to fit everything in that she’s missed in the years (ok, months) since the last lesson. Not nearly as fun as the all-nighters she and Logan used to pull together, but still a sense of satisfaction at the end. And then she files away the information, under lock and key, deep down in the bottom of her soul, until the next time it all comes gushing out, begging for more.

 

She starts simple, checking to see if he’s been mentioned in any articles. There’s nothing new there, or at least nothing concrete. Just speculation on what he might be up to now that the break-up is official, and grainy photos claimed to be of him that are taken from so far away that it could be anyone. (But not far enough away for _her_ to know it’s _not_ him.) Veronica takes a gulp of coffee, lets the warmth spread through her. She could stop here. She wants to know if there’s anything new, and there isn’t. _There’s always something, Veronica. You just have to know where to look._

 

And then it comes to her. She’s not sure why she never tried before. She opens a new tab and types _facebook.com_ into the address bar. Thank god she’s logged in because there’s no way she remembers that password. Veronica had made an account along with everyone else back when Facebook was the new thing, but she never posted herself and only had a few private photos on her page that other people had tagged her in. She was friends with a bunch of people from high school and college, but eventually she changed her photo to a silhouette of her back and shortened her name to just Veronica M. And that’s how you become almost invisible on Facebook, a foolproof way to get the dirt on everyone else while you fly under the radar.

 

Only Veronica had eventually realized that there wasn’t much dirt to be found. Sometimes a wedding is just a wedding and a baby is just a baby. Sure, people were sharing only the most glamorous parts of their lives, but there were no mysteries to be solved. And so aside from being something to scroll through when she was bored once in a blue moon, Facebook didn’t hold much appeal. Until now.

 

Logan and Veronica aren’t Facebook friends. He never requested and she was too chicken to make the first move. She’s not sure he has an active account, but she definitely saw his name pop up in her suggested friends a while back. She types out his name in the search bar, unconsciously holding her breath while the page loads.

 

And there he is. She exhales in a whoosh. It’s a photo she’s never seen before, a profile of him at the beach; the ocean and the setting sun behind him, creating a soft glow effect. And he’s _gorgeous._ He is also, unfortunately, only showing the top of his bare chest in the photo, but the little she can see of his muscular form leaves very little to the imagination. Veronica clicks on the photo, stares a bit longer than she probably should, and notices the date it was put up. Only about two years ago, so it was likely taken post-naval training and boy does it show. _Cool it, Veronica._

 

 

 

  
[](https://imgur.com/f8haZCu)

 

Logan’s account is private, but she can still see a lot of his photos, mostly because she’s friends with the people who took them and tagged him. She’s never been more grateful for her Facebook account. The latest photo is of him with Carrie - with _Bonnie_. She wonders what the story was there, how and when they became an item. The photo is kind of blurry, they look to be outside some club. Carrie is not quite looking at the camera. She's smiling, but it doesn't seem to reach her eyes. Logan is facing Carrie, and the expression on his face is one she’s seen before - once upon a time when it had been focused on _her_ \- soft, caring and happy. _In love_. She feels a pang in her heart. You _left_ him _, Veronica. He has a right to be happy_. The photo is from almost six months ago, long before they broke up. She ignores the fact that that makes her feel better.

 

The whole bunch of latest photos are of him and Carrie, some with other 09ers thrown in - Gia, Luke, Dick and some guy she vaguely remembers, Carl or something? - at various locations in Neptune. None are posted by Carrie though, most of them either uploaded by Gia or Dick. She lingers on Logan’s face in each photo, watching the story unfold backwards. Finally, there is no more Carrie. There are a few of him with Dick; according to the caption, Dick was taking advantage of having Logan back from a deployment. And then she gets to the good stuff. 

 

Logan is posing with some fellow Navy buddies, in front of a huge boat - no, wait, she read about this - _ship_ \- dressed to the nines in full uniform, beaming from ear to ear. Surprisingly, it’s another one uploaded by Dick, meaning he had either dropped off or picked up Logan at what she assumes is his base. _Who else do you think would be doing that? He has no family and it’s not like you were there to do it…_

 

Veronica scrolls down to the end of the feed. There are a few more photos of Logan, definitely pre-Navy, at some parties at Hearst, a few on the beach. She scrolls back to that photo of him in his uniform, hovering her mouse over it. There’s a sudden sense of _pride_ for him. She’d heard, of course, that he enlisted. But seeing it, seeing him like this, she can actually picture him, with his life together and his head on straight. It fits him. He was always a fierce protector, willing to do whatever it took to protect the ones he loved. She flashes to Logan, standing over Gory, wiping his bloody fist on his shirt. Boy, had that turned her on.

 

And that was why she had to leave, because she brought out his best qualities in the worst ways. She knows he only craved love and trust, but she couldn’t provide that for him. It’s her biggest regret. Veronica rubs her eyes, wiping away a tear that threatens to fall. There had been a fleeting thought, when she started all of this, of maybe sending him a friend request, trying to reconnect. But seeing that photo just confirmed it for her - he didn’t need her. Not then and not now. He had figured it all out without her, because she hadn’t been good for him, hadn’t been enough for him. She imagines that those guys in those photos are his family now. _I knew you could do it, Logan. I’m so effing_ proud _of you._

 

If Logan found his new normal, she could find hers. If he could change, so could she. And she’s reached full circle, thinking about Piz again. Thinking that maybe he wouldn't be such a bad addition to this new straight and narrow - and yes, _boring_ , but also _safe -_ life of hers. 

 

_Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz._

 

Veronica jumps at her phone vibrating in her pocket, her hand jerking against the mouse. She fishes it out. _Speak of the devil._

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey, Veronica.”

 

“Hey, Piz.”

 

“Look, I know we literally just said goodbye two hours ago -”

 

 _Had she really been looking at photos for that long?_ Veronica glances back over at the photo of Navy!Logan. Yup, definitely could get lost in that image for a while.

 

“-and technically, you’re supposed to wait, like, a day or two. But seeing as this isn’t your typical boy-meets-girl situation-”

 

She’s ready to cut him off, and just tell him they should go out again when, out of the corner of her eye, Veronica notices something blue at the corner of the photo.

 

“-I thought maybe we could skip the whole-”

 

Something that looks like a blue thumbs-up sign.

 

“Shit!”

 

Rule number one of staying invisible on Facebook: Never, ever, like someone's photo. EVER. Especially your ex whom you have just decided is better off without you.

 

“-uh, is everything ok?”

 

She scrambles for the mouse, clicks Unlike.

 

“Uh, yeah, sorry, just spilled a little something here, Piz.”

 

She’s too late.

 

“Oh, totally, that’s the worst. You know that reminds me of the time the old band and I -”

 

Her heart is beating so fast, the rush of blood pounding in her ears drowning out the sound of Piz’s voice. A notification had popped up on the top of her screen.

 

“Piz? It looks like this spill is a bit more serious than I thought. I’m going to have to call you back sometime. Maybe next week. Have a good night!”

 

“Sure, you t-”

 

She jabs at the end call button.

 

Clenches her teeth and clicks the red notification balloon.

 

_One new friend request: Logan Echolls._

 

“Fuuuuuck.”

 

* * *

 

Logan is staring at her.

 

Well, his photo is starting at her. Which is silly because he’s not even facing the camera, but it feels like he’s looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Daring her to accept.

 

Deep breaths. In and out. Should she? Hadn’t she just decided it was time to move on for good?

 

It’s not even a question, though. If it’s him asking, she’ll do it.

 

_I need your help, Veronica._

 

She clicks accept.

 

It’s not even a second later when Facebook chat pops open with a message from him.

 

 **LE** : If I’d known all it would take to get you to reach out was the uniform, I would’ve enlisted way sooner.

 

 _Yeesh. His first words to her after all this time, and he’s already proven he can still see right through her._ She hadn’t meant to reach out, but that photo had definitely gotten to her, in more ways than one.

 

 **VM** : You should only wear that. Ever.

 

 **LE** : Noted.

 

 **VM** : So...you must be having amazing weather there right now. I miss the sun.

 

 _Really, Veronica? You went for the_ weather _?!_

 

 **LE** : How ‘bout them Dodgers?

 

Busted. Why is this so awkward? She hesitates over the keys, not sure what to say next.

 

 **LE** : Look at us, falling back in our old rhythms.

 

Veronica chuckles. 

 

 **VM** : Seriously, though. The Navy, that’s amazing, Logan. I had heard, of course, but I couldn’t fully picture it.

 

 **LE** : You do realize that picture is a few years old now? Any reason you were knee deep in my tagged photos?

 

 **VM** : Really? It just happened to pop up on my feed.

 

 **LE** : You never could lie to me, Veronica.

 

Dammit. Well, when denial doesn't work, there’s always deflection.

 

 **VM** : I wouldn’t take a busy fly boy like you for one to spend his time on a site like this. In fact, I seem to remember you being interested in a certain site that focused less on faces, and more on...other body parts.

 

 **LE** : Hey, mock all you want, but Mac and I raked in some serious cash with that little project. BTW, for someone who seems to know so much about this site, you know your face is pretty lacking from your face-book?

 

So he wants to see a picture of her. Interesting.

 

 **VM** : Everyone knows there are only two purposes to this site: to prove to all of your ‘friends’ how great your life is, or to silently stalk everyone you’ve ever known. I think you know which category I fall into.

 

 **LE** : Aha! So you admit to stalking my page!

 

 **VM** : If I admit it, you’ll have to tell me who you were stalking. Takes one to know one.

 

 **LE** : I wasn’t stalking. I was...checking up on a friend.

 

She chuckles at his choice of words. For a minute she wonders if he means her, but taking into account all of the evidence she had gathered about Logan lately, she quickly arrives at the correct assumption.

 

 **VM** : Carrie.

 

 **LE** : How’d you - eh, I should’ve known. Well, I’m assuming you’ve seen the headlines. It’s not the whole story, but the gist of it is that even though we’re not together, she still really needs someone who cares about her.

 

Veronica quickly looks up Carrie’s - or, rather, Bonnie’s  - official fan page. There are pictures of her at some party along with a video that was uploaded not long ago, just around the time she liked Logan’s photo to be exact. Carrie is clearly wasted, stumbling in her heels, with one hand holding a bottle and the other wrapped around - is that Sean Friedrich? Makes sense, seeing that the tabloids had hinted at an affair between the two, while Carrie and Logan were still together. _Oh, Logan. You never do fall for the easy ones, do you?_

 

 **VM** : I’m sorry about Carrie, Logan. We were never friends, but I always respected her, and how she stood up for those that needed it. 

 

 _Yeesh, you’re making it sound like she died, Veronica._ What  _is_ the right sentiment for your ex’s ex who’s fallen off the wagon? She quickly types another line.

 

 **VM** : She’s lucky to have you as a friend.

 

 **LE** : More like a sponsor.

 

Veronica can hear his voice in her head, sad and resigned. She wants to say something to take away his pain, but she’s never been good at words when they count. Maybe she should go back to banter, lighten the mood? Although now that she’s talking to Logan again, she feels the urge to _really_ speak to him, to open up to him in a way she’s never wanted to with anyone else. But before she can put her thoughts together, he writes again.

 

 **LE** : Listen, Veronica, I wish we could keep talking, but I really think I should go. Carrie, she was doing really well for a while, and I think I can try to convince her to get back into rehab. 

 

 **LE** : You’re right, by the way, she always did stand up for her friends. Losing Susan was unbearable for her, and some days, this is how she chooses to deal with the pain.

 

 **VM** : I understand. I hope everything works out, Logan, really. 

 

 **LE** : Anyway, don’t be a stranger, OK? Let’s not let another 8 years go by.

 

He ends his last message with a string of numbers. As if she hasn’t memorized them the day they first exchanged numbers, over a decade ago. (The fact that he’s still in her contacts? That’s because it’s inconvenient to not just transfer all of her contacts from phone to phone. Not because she likes seeing his name when she scrolls through the L’s, or because she sometimes looks at his contact photo, wondering what he’s doing at that exact moment.)

 

 **VM** : I won’t.

 

Veronica watches as the chat box goes grey, signaling that Logan had signed off. She feels a swell of emotion suddenly, almost like she wants to cry. From joy, from sadness, she’s not sure. One thing she’s sure about? This thing with Piz can’t go anywhere. And it’s not because she thinks she still has a chance with Logan. Anyone can see that he’s completely in love with Carrie. But talking to Logan had felt real, like maybe she could finally be herself again, instead of this persona she’s taken on. And she is so _tired_ of pretending to be someone she’s not. Being with Piz might be easy, but no one writes songs about the ones that come easy, right?

 

* * *

 

Veronica’s dreams are full of pool houses, bathrooms and spinning kisses. She’s disjointed when she wakes up, but then she remembers. Piz, the Facebook slip-up and then _Logan._ She checks her phone, hoping maybe he would have contacted her. There are no new texts but she has a Facebook notification. Sometime last night Logan had looked through her scarce photo collection, and found one of her in typical pre-Stanford attire -  jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket, combat boots and her favorite studded black bag. His comment reads, “You should only ever wear this.”

 

She spends a little more time in bed looking at the rest of Logan’s photos that she couldn’t see before. There aren’t that many more, confirming the fact that he had really mostly been online to look out for Carrie. Something nags at her from their conversation last night. His comment about Susan Knight and her being the reason for Carrie’s addiction. Veronica’s not one to judge, but as someone who had lost her best friend as well and dealt with it without substance abuse (albeit some might call her obsession with finding out the truth more than a little unhealthy), she feels like there’s more to the story than meets the eye. 

 

She occupies the rest of her morning reading up on the morbid tale - the boat trip, the witness testimonies, the obituary. All accounts point to Susan overdosing and falling overboard while the rest of them were high as kites, but it still seems fishy (no pun intended), especially as no body was ever recovered. Veronica forces herself to stop at noon. There is no reason for her to be looking into this. No one hired her to do this and besides, she doesn’t do this anymore.

 

Piz calls just after twelve, and she lets him down easy, telling him she’s not really in the right place for a relationship right now. He asks if they can still be friends and invites her to come with him and some buddies to hear some hot new band next week and she says she’ll think about it. (She doesn’t think about it, nor does she go and that’s the last she ever hears from Stosh Piznarski.)

 

Throughout the weekend she keeps picking up her phone to start a text to Logan, but can’t decide what to say. _It’s your move, Veronica._ Finally, on Sunday night, after a day of going over notes for her next exam, she decides to just go for it, with a simple opening line. Something light and breezy.

 

 **VM** : Hey there, sailor boy.

 

It’s not even three minutes later when he replies.

 

 **LE** : That’s Lieutenant sailor boy to you, counselor.

 

 **VM** : Not a counselor yet, Lt.

 

 _I’m not really sure I ever want to be,_ she doesn’t write.

 

 **LE** : Well, when the time comes, I wouldn’t envy opposing counsel. Seriously Veronica, good for you.

 

 **VM** : Well, if you ever get accused of murder again, you’ll know who to call.

 

Was it too soon for a quip like that? Veronica cringes. Talking to Logan is so familiar on the one hand, yet on the other feels completely new. 

 

 **LE** : You know you’d be my first call. Eight years of radio silence, but deep down I still know that I can count on you.

 

Logan Echolls, master of words, always walking around with his heart on his sleeve (for those who knew him well enough to look). Back when they were dating, these kind of statements were what made her want to run. But she’s not running now. 

 

Before she can overthink it, she’s dialing his number.

 

“Hi, Veronica,” he answers, saying her name so softly it almost takes her breath away. _God_ , how can this man still make her feel this way, after all this time, just by saying her _name_.

 

“Logan,” she murmurs, hoping she doesn’t actually sound breathless. “About those eight years…”

 

“Bygones,” he states firmly.

 

Because she doesn’t know what to say to that, and because she clearly enjoys torturing herself with thoughts of Logan with another woman, she asks, “How did things go with Carrie?”

 

“Things with Carrie are never easy. But she agreed to give rehab another try, so I spent yesterday and today getting her there and checked in. It’s been exhausting, really. It’s good to be home and hear your voice.”

 

“Where is home these days?”

 

“I’m not sure I want to disclose that information to you.”

 

Intriguing. “If you don’t tell me, you know I’m going to find out by other means.”

 

“Alright, alright. I actually stay at Dick’s beach house when I’m on shore duty.”

 

_Ugh, Dick._

 

“See, that’s why I didn't want to tell you.”

 

Oops, didn’t mean to say that aloud, but she can’t say she’s sorry. “What’s Dick like nowadays?”

 

“Oh, he’s exactly the same. It’s quite refreshing, actually. I’ll have you know that I did have my own place for a while, but with my schedule it didn’t really seem worth it. Last time I was on leave I split my time between Dick’s and Carrie’s, and now, well, it’s just Dick. But it beats being alone.”

 

“Yeah...living alone can get lonely,” she says oh-so profoundly and then, “are you due for another deployment soon?”

 

“Actually just got back and rumor is we won’t be shipped out again until after Christmas. So have just about a year this time, which is nice.”

 

A _year_. A year in which until now Veronica had only pictured being full of cramming for her final exams, getting ready to take the bar and looking for her first big, grown-up lawyering job. A few days ago she had thought that maybe Piz would also have fit in there somewhere, but that seems laughable now. Now, all she hopes is that this year includes a whole lot of time spent reconnecting with Logan. _And maybe, just maybe_ , a voice in the back of her head says, _reevaluating if this path you set out on is really the one you want._

 

To Logan she says, “I’m glad. So, tell me about the navy. I mean, I have so many questions!”

 

Logan chuckles ( _god, she missed that sound_ ), “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”

 

They spend the next thirty minutes filling each other in on as much as they possibly can from the last eight years, while carefully avoiding topics such as her reasons for leaving Neptune and any significant others. It’s getting pretty late, and Veronica has to be up early Monday morning, so they say their goodbyes, but both make it clear they will be talking again very soon. 

 

Just before they hang up, however, Veronica feels like she needs to add something. “Wait, Logan. Are you still there?”

 

“I’m here.”

 

“I know you said bygones, but I just feel like I need to apologize for how I left things. I needed time, and then I was too proud to call you and then I was too scared of falling back into my old ways, hurting everyone I ever...cared about. But now all I can think of is how much time we’ve wasted.” She whispers the last part, “I’ve missed you, Logan.”

 

“I missed you too, Veronica. You have no idea.” (She’s pretty sure she does.) “But I was serious about bygones. No regrets. You think you were bad? I was self-destructive and I didn’t deserve you. I knew you believed in me, though, always encouraging me to _be better_. I needed to prove it to myself that I could be that person. We needed that time apart, Veronica. We had both been through so much, you know? Way more than any one of us should have gone through in a lifetime. I actually had to go through mandatory counseling when I enlisted, and it...it helped me come to terms with everything. You and I, we turned to each other to cope, but we couldn’t help each other before we helped ourselves. Does that - did that make any sense?”

 

Veronica can’t help herself, she sniffles, holding back tears. “One would think you were the one who majored in psychology.” She huffs out a laugh. “I, uh, I hadn’t thought of it like that. Just as long as we don’t let another eight years go by, I guess I can work on not feeling so guilty.”

 

“I’ll text you tomorrow, how ‘bout that?”

 

“I’ll be waiting. Have a good night. And Logan - I’m really proud of you.”

 

He’s silent for a moment, and then he answers, voice shaky, “Thank you, Veronica. Good night.”

 

Veronica falls back on her bed, clutching her phone to her chest. She feels like her heart is going to burst out of her chest. She wants to laugh, she wants to cry. She falls asleep that night going over every detail of their call with a huge grin on her face.

 

* * *

 

Things are different in the months that follow. At first, it’s subtle. Veronica goes about her daily tasks the same as always, but now they are accompanied by texting with Logan almost every day and speaking to him on the phone at least twice a week. Their conversations are light at first, just their usual snark and banter, but as time goes on they touch on more heavy topics - a friend he lost in the navy, a case Veronica helped with for a school project where the culprit got off unpunished.

 

Slowly, she starts to feel a change in other aspects of her life. It’s harder not to investigate even the smallest of mysteries, like who keeps leaving the lid off the garbage cans outside of her building (senile old Mr. Jones from 1A). She asks Logan to fill her in on what’s happening in Neptune (the police are corrupt, what else is new?). She asks more in-depth questions about her dad’s cases and she knows he won’t admit it, but her observations definitely help him catch a break in more than a few. As winter comes to an end, she even helps a classmate file a restraining order against a stalker-y ex and she may or may not track the guy down and threaten him with some information she obtained using methods one may or may not consider legal.

 

Logan’s life choices certainly play a part in her rethinking her own. This Logan, this new, softer, grown-up Logan, has embraced his best qualities and blossomed into the person she always knew he could be. She, on the other hand, has been running from her true self since she left Neptune. She’d always told herself it was the right decision, safer for herself and those around her. But those years, being an investigator, were really the only time she felt she was making a difference. Finding out the truth and making the bad guys pay. If she gets any of the jobs she’s planning on applying to, there’s a good chance she’ll be _representing_ the bad guys some of the time. The thought makes her skin crawl.

 

She conveys her concerns to Logan in the spring. He is frustratingly supportive of both options.

 

“You know I won’t think less of you either way.”

 

“Even if I work helping murderers get away with it?”

 

“I know that’s not what you’d be doing. So, there are grey areas in lawyering. There are grey areas in almost everything. But you could also do a lot of good.”

 

“So you think I should become a lawyer.”

 

“You should do what makes you happy. If being a PI makes you happy, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

 

 “Being a PI got me in crosshairs with a mob, lost my father the election, ruined almost all of my relationships and left me with an inability to trust anyone.”

 

“Yeesh, someone’s been reviewing the psych textbooks. You want to know what I think?”

 

“What?”

 

“I think that you were a _teenager_. Everybody makes mistakes. Your kindness and compassion, your inability to turn away someone who needs help, those were always the driving factors to your decisions. Along with a severe need for justice and sometimes revenge, yes. If you do decide to go back, you know there are risks. It’s dangerous and you know how I feel about you being in danger. But I think you have to trust yourself  - if you decide that it’s worth it, you’ll be able to handle it.”

 

Still, she doesn’t make any rash decisions. The amount of time and money she spent on this career path begs for her to see it through. So she continues with her studies, prepares for her final exams. 

 

She and Logan talk about anything and everything (almost everything). Memories of Lilly, what their old classmates are up to, her dad, Trina, flying fighter jets, FBI internships, the best new food places on either coast. She asks after Carrie from time to time, because it’s the right thing to do (not because she’s waiting to hear hints of if they’ll be getting back together) and she seems to be doing well, due to come home in the summer.

 

“I actually have regards for you from Carrie,” Logan tells her one day in May.

 

“You...told her about me?” _What does that mean about us? And about you two? Get it together Mars, you know he’s still in love with her!_

 

“Yeah, of course. She was actually really interested to hear what you were up to, seemed disappointed you no longer took cases.”

 

Intriguing. Veronica flashes back to her deep dive into the Susan Knight case _(since when did she start referring to it as that?_ ). “Did she say why?”

 

“It’s hard to know why Carrie says most things, have you heard her music?”

 

Veronica actually had and couldn’t make head nor tails of what she was trying to say in her latest album, _Confessional_. The conversation takes on a different direction after that, and Veronica puts all thoughts of Carrie out of her mind.

 

Somehow it comes up on a call with her dad that she and Logan are talking again. He sounds disappointed, she thinks. “You be careful, honey. There always was a darkness to that kid.”

 

“Dad!” she admonishes. She knows Keith was never Logan’s #1 fan, and he might have had a point, back when they were dating. But now? The Logan she knows now is who he is _despite_ the darkness, and that is fucking  _amazing_ and her dad needs to know that. She must ramble on about the man he’s become for a long time because Keith cuts her off after a while.

 

“-oh, honey. I’m sorry. You just said you had been in touch. I didn’t realize you had feelings for him again. He does sound like he’s turned his life around, but you’ll have to forgive me for having some reservations.”

 

Her dad will come around, she knows. Or he won’t, whatever, it’s not like anything is going to happen between her and Logan that will require his approval. Because here’s the situation: Logan, her Logan, had grown up and moved on and was in love with someone else. And, oh yeah, ‘had feelings for him again’ is a gross understatement of the situation she’s in. Because somehow over the last six months, in between “you should only wear this” and “bygones” and “I always know I can count on you”, she has realized that she is, and always has been, completely and irrevocably in love with Logan Echolls.

 

Completely in love with a man who she can’t have.

 

* * *

 

The phone call comes in July.

 

It’s a blocked number, and she wouldn’t have answered if not for the text Logan sends seconds before, reading, “hey, it’s me, please pick up.”

 

“Hello?”

 

“I need your help, Veronica.” The voice is feminine and decidedly not Logan.

 

“...Carrie? Is that you?” It’s the only possibility that makes sense. Logan had told her he was going to pick Carrie up from rehab today and bring her home. She had been counting down the days, savoring the time she had with him before he inevitably got back with Carrie.

 

“Yes.” She sounds scared. “Logan is with me, we bought a burner phone to call you because I think, well I’m pretty sure my phone is bugged. Maybe his too.”

 

Veronica is a little taken aback. Part of her wants to tell Carrie she doesn’t do this anymore. But that would be a lie. In fact, she has a pretty strong suspicion that whatever Carrie is going to say has to do with the boat accident she had looked into all those months ago, which she guesses makes it her first official case after all this time. “That’s good, Carrie. Now can you tell me what’s going on?”

 

Carrie seems nervous and completely spooked. Her voice is so shaky Veronica can barely follow her next words. Something about Susan, and a cog - cob? - and blackmail. She’s grateful when Logan finally takes the phone from her.

 

“Sorry about that. I offered to do the talking but she wanted to explain it herself. She’s pretty shaken up, though. I’m not sure how much of that you got, but I think Carrie might be in serious danger. Do you - do you think we could meet you in New York? You don’t even have to investigate, we mostly could really use a good lawyer.”

 

If she barely hesitated when it was Carrie asking, there’s no way she’s going to say no to Logan. 

 

* * *

 

Ten hours later, she’s waiting at the airport for them to arrive. She’s barely slept since then, partially because she’s been digging up information from some of the details Logan was able to provide (such as the name Stu Cobbler, which makes a lot of sense in retrospect). But the real reason she couldn’t sleep was because of how nervous she was about seeing Logan again. _Maybe when you see him again you’ll realize you don’t actually love him and that will be that. Problem solved._

 

Her wishful thinking couldn’t be further from the truth. When she sees him, walking slightly ahead of Carrie, her eyes drink him in. The picture on Facebook and the few he’s shared with her since don’t do him justice. He walks through the arrival hall with a straight back, his tall, angular form on full display. He’s in a henley and khakis, and the way the material fits accentuates his chiseled form. _Hubba hubba_. She thinks she might love him even more in this moment. Not because of the way he looks - though hey, she’s not complaining - but because after all this time, the old Logan she can picture that she used to love, and the new Logan she has relearned through his voice and his words that she loves now, finally reconcile as one as he makes his way towards her.

 

And then he’s in front of her, having taken long strides to reach her quickly once he spotted her. She doesn’t have time to hesitate, to remind herself that he doesn’t return her feelings, because all of the sudden his arms are around her, holding her tight as she breathes him in and revels in this moment, at having him here with her, real and in the flesh. He releases her after what seems like hours and she greets Carrie as well, trying but failing to get over the marvelous way it had felt to be back in Logan’s arms.

 

They get to work. Logan has booked two rooms for himself and Carrie in a hotel downtown under a fake name and paid with cash. (The two rooms do not go unnoticed, but it doesn’t mean anything, really.) With the help of Logan, Carrie shares the whole sordid affair. The drugs, Susan’s death, Cobb’s suggestion and subsequent blackmail. She tells them that she has been so close to just telling the truth that she fears Cobb is serious this time in his threats against her. 

 

Once everything is out in the open, Veronica lays out their plan. She installs software on Carrie’s phone that will make it look like she’s still on the west coast and instructs her to keep up appearances with Cobb - check in when she’s supposed to, transfer him money if he asks. Meanwhile, she gets Carrie to meet with a lawyer and starts building a case against Cobb with a little on-location help from her dad. Now that they know what he’s up to, it’s not hard to find evidence that will implicate him.

 

Within a few days, Cobb is behind bars and Carrie, Gia and Luke have turned themselves in, represented by the best lawyers an 09er can afford to buy. The law firm Veronica had found to represent Carrie had branches on both coasts and had arranged for her to be allowed to give her initial statement in New York under the condition that she return to California within the next few days for her hearing and sentencing. The consequences are unclear; it’s not likely they’ll get off with nothing, but at least they are out from under Cobb’s thumb and their lives are no longer in danger.

 

The night before Carrie is due to head back to Neptune, she thanks Veronica profusely. “Seriously, Veronica. I don’t know what I’d have done without your help. I was drowning, literally. When Logan mentioned your name to me, I knew you were my last chance at making this right. I know you probably think I’m a horrible person for what I let happen to Susan, and I can’t ever undo what was done, but I promise you I’m going to try and find a way to atone for it and this was just the beginning.”

 

Veronica believes her, recognizing a loyal friendship when she sees one, and thinks of Lilly with a pang. (She’s not surprised to hear, a few months down the line, of Bonnie DeVille’s new campaign to help teens and young adults who struggle with addiction as well as her charity in Susan’s name to support young single moms.)

 

* * *

 

It’s over. Carrie is back in her room and it’s just her and Logan in his hotel suite. Veronica had been certain that Logan would be accompanying Carrie back to Neptune to help her get her affairs in order, but Carrie had insisted that she needed to do this herself and commanded Logan to take advantage of being in New York. Logan had agreed, and has yet to mention when he’ll be flying out. Veronica’s not ready for him to go, not after she just got him back. _He’s not_ yours _, Veronica._

 

These past few days have been a whirlwind of events and emotions. They had mostly been focused on the case. But during those times when she and Logan were alone together - or even a few times when it wasn’t just the two of them - there had been some serious moments. Like, sneaking looks at each other, breath-taking, staring into each others’ eyes, I’m still in love with you moments. Or at least, that’s what she had been experiencing from her side.

 

_You have to give it up, Veronica. You had your chance with Logan and you blew it. Maybe it’s just best you wish them well so you can stop fantasizing about something that can never be._

 

“Well, that was fun!” She bravely puts on a care-free face and beams at him. “I know you’ll be glad to have Carrie back home with you.”

 

“Not home  _with_ me, but yeah. I can’t thank you enough for what you did. Especially since you aren’t sure about getting back into investigating.” 

 

She’s almost 100% sure after this she  _does_ want to investigate again, but right now she can’t think about that. There is only one thing right now she needs to get to the bottom of.

 

“Well maybe not with-you, with you at first. But she’ll come around eventually, I’m sure...She might just need some time to process-”

 

“Veronica, Carrie and I are not together. You know when we broke up.” He’s adamant, speaking slowly and carefully as if to make sure she understands each word.

 

“I just figured, you know, since you were still in love with her, you might get back together after everything…” her voice trails off.

 

“I love Carrie, but I’m not _in_ love with her.”

 

“Oh.”

 

The silence is deafening. He did not just imply what she thinks he implied, did he? It’s not possible that he could be in love with her too, is it? Just because he’s not in love with Carrie doesn’t mean he reciprocates her feelings. Neither one of them say anything. She feels so awkward. He’s looking right at her, is he waiting for her to say something? _What’s that you always do when things get tough, Veronica?_ She doesn’t want to run this time, but...

 

“Maybe I should go…” she gestures in the general direction of the hotel door.

 

“Wait.” He moves towards her. “Don’t go.” 

 

* * *

 

Sometimes she wonders what would have happened if Piz hadn’t called at that exact moment, if her hand hadn’t slipped and actually clicked the like button on that photo. Would he have called her one day? Would she have called him? When? Under what circumstances?

 

* * *

 

But right now she’s not wondering about what might have been. Not when he’s crossing the room and taking her face in his hands and lowering his lips to hers and _kissing her_. She can’t breathe, let alone think. It takes a moment for her brain to catch up and then she’s kissing him back, hungrily. Logan wraps his arms around her, lifting her off the ground, spinning her in his arms - towards the bed, she hopes. 

 

But she can’t wait to make it to the bed. She holds out her hands, bracing them on a pillar in the room behind Logan, leaving him no choice but to lean back against it. She needs more, needs to feel all of him. She runs her hands up his back, reaching under his shirt to trace his defined muscles. He is mouthing at her neck now, locating that one spot he knows drives her crazy. She moans and she can feel him smirking against her skin. He shifts her to one arm for a moment - _how is he so strong -_ and uses the other to try and unbutton her shirt. He grunts impatiently and then, without warning, rips it open, buttons flying left and right.

 

Veronica couldn’t care less.

 

He leans down to place kisses along the top of one breast, and then the other. She arches into his kisses, pushing the rest of her body as close as she can to his. She can feel him hard against her core. Suddenly, she has no more patience. She has been waiting months - scratch that, _years_ \- for this. Later - there has to be a later - she will let Logan do anything he wants to her. Right now, she just needs him as soon as possible. She grabs at his hair, pulling him back up for a searing kiss. It’s sloppy, open-mouthed and frantic, but at the same time it’s perfect.

 

“Logan, please,” she begs, and thank goodness he understands, shifting so that they can help each other move clothing out of the way. 

 

They come together, in more ways than one, right there on the pillar. As she comes down from her high, blissed out and chest heaving, Veronica buries her head in the crook of Logan’s neck and thinks, _home_.

 

* * *

 

She doesn’t tell him until a few months later.

 

They live together now, in a small apartment in Neptune. It’s temporary; they have plans to buy a place on the beach someday, maybe get a dog. But first they have a 180-day deployment looming in the future to get through, and Veronica is content to focus on the bliss in the here and now. Some people might say it all seems so sudden - her moving back to her hometown to work with her dad as a reinstated PI, her and Logan moving in together mere weeks after seeing each other again for the first time in almost nine years - but no matter what her dad thinks or the tabloids write, Veronica knows this life is the one she is meant to be living. And it was a long time coming.

 

They’re in bed, enjoying a lazy morning after a long night of having sex on every possible surface of their apartment. Neither of them had voiced the reason for the sudden lovemaking marathon, but she knows they are both counting down the days they have left before Logan has to ship out. She looks up at him from her perch on his chest, her fingers drawing random patterns on his sculpted abs while he plays with her hair.

 

“Logan? I...I have a confession to make. Do you remember that night we first reconnected? When I -"

 

“-liked that photo of me in my effity white uniform?” he smirks. She has since gotten to see him in (and helped him out of) said uniform and he knows she can’t get enough of it.

 

“So, funny story…” She continues with the complete version of events - the date, the longing, the Facebook stalking and the phone call that led to the fateful but truly accidental liking of the post.

 

Logan is silent throughout her retelling and remains scarily still once she’s done, fingers no longer trailing through her blonde locks.

 

“Say something?” she begs. Logan is not nearly as fidgety as he used to be when they were teenagers, but it still makes her nervous when he’s motionless.

 

After a second, Logan just laughs, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

 

Veronica slaps him playfully, “Why are you laughing? It’s not really that funny. I mean, what if that hadn’t happened? Do you think - ”

 

“I don’t have to think. I know. It might have taken longer, but we would have ended up right here just the same.” He looks down at her, his brown eyes boring into hers in that Logan way of conveying love and affection that still gives her butterflies.

 

“Right here? You mean the two of us, in bed, after a full night of -” she starts coyly, walking her hand down his chest and under the sheet.

 

He cuts her off with a passionate kiss before she can give a complete recap. He flips them over, and before he gets started on round number whose-counting he answers, “That’s exactly what I mean. 

 

“Because we’re epic, you and me.”

 

And Veronica would dare say she agrees.

 

END

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading. Would love to know what you thought in the comments!
> 
> Source for the FB template: https://ignitionedu.com/2016/08/fake-facebook-page


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